Brendan Gleeson will appear in the Joker sequel with Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga

A dark image of Joaquin Phoenix walking with Brendan Gleeson blurred behind him
Brendan Gleeson was spotted in a short snippet in the trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux

Eagle-eyed fans have spotted none-other than Brendan Gleeson in the trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux. But who does the Irish actor play in the highly anticipated sequel?

The trailer for the sequel to the 2019 film, which saw its star Joaquin Phoenix win Best Actor at the Oscars, dropped earlier this week. Fans were ecstatic to see Phoenix return as the troubled and deranged villain alongside Lady Gaga, who plays Harley Quinn.

The trailer gives fans a glimpse into what they can expect from the highly-anticipated sequel, including disturbing scenes of the Joker erratically laughing while chained up in the rain. The trailer has been viewed millions of times with fans online pointing out all of the things they are noticing.

Many were delighted to briefly spot Irish actor Brendan Gleeson in the trailer. It was announced in 2022 that Gleeson was joining the cast of the sequel, but nothing has been revealed about his character.

Speculation around who Gleeson could be playing has been ongoing since the announcement that he was joining the project. Many have guessed that he might play characters such as Dr Hugo Strange, Harvey Bullock, or warden Quincy Sharp.


With the release of the trailer, it seems as though Gleeson might be playing a warden of some sort as we see him walking behind the Joker down a prison hallway. If it is Quincy Sharp, the warden of Arkham Asylum in the video game of the same name, it would be the first time a character from the video games has appeared in a live adaptation of a Batman-related movie.

After it was announced that Brendan Gleeson would appear in Joker 2, he revealed why he decided to join the project. In an interview with Collider about The Banshees of Inisherin, he revealed that it was Phoenix’s performance as the titular character that drew him in.

He explained: “It wasn’t the material, which is a great way to get me out of having to answer any questions about the criteria. It was the achievement of the first film.